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The Super Bowl is the annual championship game of the National Football League (NFL), the highest level of professional football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year.

New York Fashion Week, held in February and September of each year, is a semi-annual series of events (generally lasting 7–9 days) when international fashion collections are shown to buyers, the press and the general public. It consists of numerous branded events, including New York City Fashion Week, Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week New York, and MADE Fashion Week, as well as numerous independent fashion productions around town.

The Masters Tournament, also known as The Masters or The US Masters, is one of the four major championships in professional golf. Scheduled for the first full week of April, it is the first of the majors to be played each year. Unlike the other major championships, the Masters is held each year at the same location, Augusta National Golf Club, a private golf club in the city of Augusta, Georgia, USA.

Culture

U.S. fashion label Marc Jacobs is speaking to the “Big Spender” with dramatic film featuring its resort collection.

The short film, a recreation of an iconic scene from the musical “Sweet Charity,” is set in a smoky dance hall. Diverting from the original, Marc Jacobs’ remake plays with gender norms, casting a chorus of drag queens as the flirtatious hostesses.

It’s like a scene straight out of a movie: A retired French doctor brings 14 unframed drawings inherited from his father to a Paris auction house for appraisal, expecting to sell the lot for a few Euros. Instead, one of the drawings catches the appraiser’s eye, and—after extensive examination by experts—is determined to be sketched by Leonardo da Vinci.

Italian apparel and accessories brand Giorgio Armani is weaving together art, sport and fashion in a new short film that shows its basketball-themed museum exhibit come to life.

The Italian brand is celebrating its Milan heritage in a multitude of ways that also raises support for the Special Olympics. Armani’s new short features Milan basketball team Olimpia Milano art pieces coming to life to play a late night game at the designer’s museum in the city, as a part of its sponsorship.

World News

After Brexit and the election of Donald Trump, 2016 will be remembered as the year of cataclysmic democratic events on both sides of the Atlantic. Social media has been implicated in the wave of populism that led to both these developments.

Most people will be glad to see the back of 2016. It was a year of shock elections, record-breaking global temperatures, devastating terrorist attacks, ongoing civil wars and high-profile celebrity deaths.

So which countries are the ones to watch? Which regions are best placed to exploit this link between higher-education expansion and economic growth?

It’s not an easy question to answer. But working with the Centre for Global Higher Education at the UCL Institute of Education, Times Higher Education has looked at a range of academic and economic metrics like research publication rates, higher education participation rates and GDP per head, and identified seven countries that are in prime position to succeed.

In the 20th century, the US had three rivals—Germany, Japan and the Soviet Union. Even in their prime, their manufacturing output represented only two thirds of America’s. China surpassing the US as the world’s largest manufacturer caused a widespread shock among US strategists. In China, this fact was not given enough due attention due to the lack of knowledge among elite and academic communities. It is in this context that US strategists and the Obama administration locked China in as its main rival and a thorn in its side, hence the shift of its global gravity to Asia, or precisely, to the surrounding regions of China.

World Calendar

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Fashion

French atelier Givenchy is conveying the duality at the heart of its DNA through an advertising campaign for spring/summer 2017.

The campaign, shared across Givenchy’s social channels, features a cast of male and female models to express the house’s contrasting principles. Duality is often explored by fashion houses to underscore design approaches such as contrasts of light and dark or stillness and movement.

The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals has released a film exposé on the unethical practices of Vietnamese crocodile farms in which LVMH is named as a patron.

In its video PETA investigates a number of crocodile farms in Vietnam with two stating they supply skins to a tannery owned by LVMH, the parent of brands such as its flagship Louis Vuitton, Dior and many others. PETA often singles out high-end, luxury brands for their use of animal skins such as crocodile, python and ostrich leathers.

This week, fashion powerhouse Gucci brings the second phase of their DIY (Do It Yourself) service stateside. The program, which launched during men’s fashion week in Milan earlier this year, comes in response to the immensely popular customization program for the house’s iconic Dionysus bag. This time around, Gucci has expanded the range of customizable products to include tailored menswear, shoes, and casual unisex jackets for personalization with bespoke tailoring, embroidery, and patches.

Pure Luxe

The Swiss watch industry’s value of exports declined by 5.6 percent to just under 1.9 billion Swiss francs, or $1.8 billion at current exchange rates, for the month of November.

The Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry noted that the decline of exports, a trend that has continued for nearly two years, “softened” in November, but the sector is still struggling. In addition to waning interest, the decline in value is being linked to precious metal watches.

French fashion house Hermès’ iconic Birkin bag is boding well for investors, as twice this year the purse style broke its previous record for most-expensive handbag sold, according to Baghunter.

A new report from Baghunter is detailing how 2017 might be a smart year for investors of the Birkin bag, as 2016 saw an average annual return of 14.2 percent compared to the Standard & Poor 500 of a nominal 11.66 percent. The fashion house will be scaling back production of the bag to preserve its second-hand value and exclusivity through 2017.

Outwardly disguised as an antique armoire, the Döttling Opus 1 watch safe is effectively hidden in plain sight, guaranteeing watch collectors the peace of mind that comes from knowing their treasured timepieces will be protected. Accessed by a finger scan or security code, the midnight black safe is decorated with gilded accents and is capable of holding up to 250 treasured timepieces.

Swiss watchmaker Tag Heuer is leveraging a residential real estate trend to give dozens of its boutiques a fast facelift.

Forty of Tag Heuer’s stores around the world were given a new look in less than 10 weeks through home staging, as touches such as décor and displays were revamped. This cosmetic update was not only speedy, but allowed the brand to keep up business as usual, since the upgrades did not interrupt sales.

Auto

At the 2017 CES in Las Vegas, Audi will become the first carmaker in the US to offer drivers a vehicle-to-infrastructure communication system.

Before cars can become autonomous, they have to become communicative and that means being able to converse not just with each other, but with the elements around them that make up the typical road network. And the faster that Vehicle-to-Infrastructure (V2I) systems come on line the faster we’ll arrive at a future where road accidents caused by human error cease to exist.

All Teslas will now be manufactured with hardware that will enable the vehicle to completely drive itself in all situations, CEO Elon Musk announced Wednesday.

“Before activating the features enabled by the new hardware, we will further calibrate the system using millions of miles of real-world driving to ensure significant improvements to safety and convenience,” Tesla said in a blog post.

If your day isn’t complete without that cup of espresso – and time is short – then we have the gadget for you.

Handpresso Auto allows you to brew up a tasty espresso from the comfort of your driver’s seat. Handpresso uses your cigarette lighter for power. All you need to do is add water and coffee, and the Handpresso will let you know when your espresso is ready. You never have to take your eyes off the road.

M’s Feature

Happy New Year to everyone! I hope everyone had an exciting, healthy, and successful 2016. I think for this year I want to explore the contacts we have from around the world, so we have an opportunity to be better than what we are. This year is all about being better in what we do and exploring the areas that are important to our clients. For example, finding out what it’s like for deep sea fishing, heli-skiing in the alps, throwing extraordinary dinners in castles in London, doing the behind the scenes at fashion week, and maybe learning how to cook with a Michelin star chef.

Each year we do a lot of the same things and a lot of the same requests come in from people. Not that these requests aren’t exciting, but they’re things we’ve done and have already proven we’re really good at fulfilling. I want to have clients this year that really challenge us to make sure we are providing the service that we feel and they feel is the very best in the industry. It would be cool to do some of the following experiences: recreation of a Marie Antoinette dinner at Versailles cooked by Alain Ducasse; spending the day with Anna Wintour and ask her yourself to go to the Met Gala; test driving McLaren race cars at the Nuerburging and have an amazing wine and dinner tasting; spending the day with David Lachapelle and learn how to create art; creating a 5 star hotel in the woods at the Glastonbury Music Festival.

Launched by the brand’s distributor Diageo, Johnnie Walker House is a network of tasting and experiential centers found in duty free zones within busy airports and popular city destinations. Selecting Harrods, a landmark and popular tourist destination in London, has a similar flow of passersby that may bring forth awareness for Johnnie Walker brand and its spirits.

This holiday season, raise a toast with the limited edition Rémy Martin XO holiday gift box. Renowned for capturing the Heart Of Cognac, the French winemaker has collaborated with Kinetic French Artist Vincent Leroy to re-imagine his signature piece in a festive gold coloring for the Rémy Martin XO holiday gift box.

Travel

Luxury cruise line Cunard is encouraging 2017 bookings through a stylish film capturing its “Everything you wanted, nothing you expected” mantra.

Cunard’s film of the same name takes viewers through the experiences she may have while onboard its cruise ships. Broken down into three key themes, the film highlights time, space and a life less ordinary to underscore the experience had while cruising with Cunard.

The decline in the euro, used by Caribbean island St. Bart’s, has allowed the affluent vacation destination to flourish as a second-home location due to favorable exchange rates.

A new report from Knight Frank shows that in October 2016, affluent U.S. consumers who purchased a second home in St. Bart’s saw a 21 percent discount compared to those in 2013. The Residential Research report showed that the discounts are due to the dropping euro and has increased demand from consumers in Europe as well as the U.S.

Four Seasons Hotel Houston is letting golfers tee off without having to venture out to the course.

As part of the downtown property’s multi-million dollar renovation, it is introducing Topgolf branded simulators in its soon-to-open Bayou & Bottle lobby bar, the first virtual experience of its kind from Topgolf. Both the eatery and simulated golfing are opening just a few weeks before the Super Bowl is held in Houston, when the hotel is apt to see traffic from athletically-minded guests and visitors.

Technology

French leather goods maker Louis Vuitton’s embrace of the spirit of travel has earned it a spot on Apple’s “Best of 2016” mobile application list.

Apple selected Louis Vuitton’s City Guide iPhone app as one of the best innovative apps launched for the year. Apple’s Best of 2016 recognizes apps from around the world, from games and tools to shopping and mobile wallets, and includes mentions of Nike, Warby Parker, Vogue, Pokemon, FIFA and more.

Financial institutions Mastercard and Visa have banded together to make mobile and digital payments safer on either of their mobile pay platforms in an effort for wide spread adoption.

While mobile pay is starting to flourish, fraud is still a major point of concern for consumers. Visa and Mastercard, both of which have their own mobile pay platforms, will now allow requested tokenized credentials from each other to be used in their respective platforms instead of credit card information.

After the controversial move to kill its subsidiary Vine, Twitter announced that it is keeping some of Vine’s functionality within the larger Twitter application.

Rather than completely remove the looping, six-second videos of Vine, Twitter is opting to keep that feature as a part of Twitter. The decision should alleviate some of the concerns of Vine-lovers who were devastated by the news of its passing.

M Level Special Feature Featuring 471 Washington St, NY

The opportunity to combine two full floor contemporary lofts at this boutique condominium is located in TriBeCa’s Historic District. When joined, this five bedroom, three exposure home will have numerous private outdoor spaces including an 18′ x 41′ terrace off the open living area and stunning protected views of the Hudson River.

When you enter this gorgeous residence you immediately notice the openness of high ceilings and brilliant light streaming through the German-engineered floor-to-ceiling Schuco windows. Beautiful custom oak hardwood floors and ceiling treatments enhance the upper level living room, dining area, and home office. The oversized master suite upstairs incorporates a sitting area, walk-in closets, a private balcony, and a windowed en-suite bath with deep soaking tub and separate steam shower.

Downstairs there are two expansive living spaces with exposed concrete ceilings, and brushed oak floors that offer a stunning contrast in texture to the upper level, three bedrooms, numerous walk-in closets, and two and a half luxurious bathrooms. Quality and attention are paid in every detail with Owner modifications that include a Crestron audio/visual system, electronic shades, custom lighting, humidification systems, and central air conditioning. The recently completed building has a 24-hour doorman in a newly renovated lobby with easy access to the Hudson River Park, Tribeca, & SoHo. The property also enjoys the benefits of a 421-A Tax Abatement.